Environment · Reg 209978
The Cremation Society of Great Britain
Charity rating & review
60/100 Clarity Score · 3 stars · Charity Commission filings · How we score
Clarity score
Needs improvement
Quick answer
Is The Cremation Society of Great Britain a good charity?
The Cremation Society of Great Britain scores 60/100 (3 stars, Needs improvement) on CharityCompare's Clarity Score, calculated from its UK regulator filings. Its latest accounts year is 2025 (£9.5m total income, 2% of spending on charitable activities). This reflects financial transparency and stewardship on paper — not the real-world impact of its programmes. See the full breakdown.
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What does The Cremation Society of Great Britain do?
The Cremation Society of Great Britain is a registered charity (no. 209978) working in environment across the United Kingdom. Its latest Charity Commission filing directs 2% of spending to charitable activities, holding roughly 20 months of reserves, and files its annual accounts on time. Reported income has been broadly stable over recent years. CharityCompare's Clarity Score rates the organisation only from public Charity Commission accounts — accountability, financial health, efficiency and community support — not the quality or impact of its programmes.
Summarised from public filings — The Cremation Society of Great Britain hasn't added its own description yet. Work here? Add it free →
In short: THE CREMATION SOCIETY OF GREAT BRITAIN scores 60 out of 100 (3 stars). 2% average program spend (3-year average). Review the pillar breakdown below.
What is The Cremation Society of Great Britain?
The Cremation Society of Great Britain has a Clarity Score of 60 out of 100 on CharityCompare (3 stars, Needs improvement). Charity Commission registration number 209978. Status: Registered. Primary cause area: Environment. Latest accounts year 2025: total income £9.5m, with 2% of expenditure on charitable activities. Accounts filing: up to date. Reserves: approximately 20 months of operating costs. 1 filing concern(s) noted on this profile. Scores are independent and based on official filings — not a donation recommendation.
Data from Charity Commission register, last updated .
Overall score
60/100
3★ · Needs improvement
Cause spend
2%
3-yr avg · charitable activities
Accountability
83/100
Finance beacon
Income
£9.5m
Latest year 2025
Reserves
20 mo
Months of running costs
Accounts filing
On time
Charity Commission
£1.2 raised per £1 fundraising (3-yr avg) · 93% overhead · Website on register · Confidence: high
How does THE CREMATION SOCIETY OF GREAT BRITAIN compare?
Clarity Score percentile against similar UK charities — the share of peers THE CREMATION SOCIETY OF GREAT BRITAIN scores higher than.
Scores higher than 11% of 619 charities in its income band · 60/100 vs 78 peer average (marker).
Scores higher than 15% of 460 charities in this cause · 60/100 vs 76 peer average (marker).
How reliable is The Cremation Society of Great Britain's data?
- Source
- Charity Commission (England & Wales)
- Accounts year
- 2025
- Filing date
- Profile reviewed
High confidence — complete filing data
Scores reflect the latest annual accounts on the register. Clarity Score measures how clearly the charity accounts for money in those filings — not programme impact.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Sources: Charity Commission for England and Wales, Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator and Charity Commission for Northern Ireland. Open Government Licence v3.0 .
What is The Cremation Society of Great Britain's Beacon report?
Detailed accountability and finance metrics from UK regulator filings — structured for transparency in our four-beacon report.
Accountability & Transparency
Baseline trust from filing discipline, board oversight, and declared governance policies.
83/100
| Metric | Score | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Filing history (5 years) 100% on-time over five years = 15 pts · one late filing = 5 pts · two or more = 0 pts. | 100% | 15/15 pts |
| Trustee oversight Three or more trustees on the register = 15 pts, scaled down for fewer (governance red flag below three). | 100% | 9 trustees · 15/15 pts |
| Declared policies Safeguarding (4) · conflict of interest (3) · volunteer management (3) — from Charity Commission annual return. | 30% | 3/10 pts |
Financial Health
Stability and solvency — reserves, revenue trend, and debt from Charity Commission accounts.
90/100
| Metric | Score | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Reserves (months of cash) 3–24 months = full marks, tapering on both sides · 0 months or 4+ years (hoarding) = 0 pts. | 100% | 20 months · 15/15 pts |
| Income stability / growth +20% or more over the window = 10 pts · flat = 5 pts · −20% or worse = 0 pts, scaled between. | 70% | 7/10 pts · 3-year average |
| Liabilities to assets 0% liabilities-to-assets = 5 pts, scaling down to 0 pts at 60%+ debt. | 100% | 4% · 5/5 pts |
Financial Efficiency
How efficiently funds reach the cause — program spend and fundraising cost ratios.
0/100
| Metric | Score | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Program expense ratio 90%+ on charitable activities = full marks, scaling down to 0 pts at 50% or below. | 0% | 2% · 0/10 pts (3-year average) |
| Fundraising efficiency ≤10p to raise £1 = full marks, scaling down to 0 pts at 40p or above (fundraising cost ÷ income). | 0% | 83p per £1 income · 0/10 pts (3-year average) |
Community Support
Grassroots backing from Charity Commission workforce data — volunteers vs paid staff.
0/100
| Metric | Score | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Volunteer-to-staff ratio Volunteers at 2x staff or more = full marks · no volunteers = 0 pts, scaled between. | 0% | Not reported · 0/10 pts |
What is The Cremation Society of Great Britain's Clarity Score?
60/100 total · Needs improvement · 3 of 5 stars
Four pillars (40 + 30 + 20 + 10 points) from Charity Commission filings — see methodology for full weightings.
Accountability & Transparency
Baseline trust from filing discipline, board oversight, and declared governance policies.
83/100
Financial Health
Stability and solvency — reserves, revenue trend, and debt from Charity Commission accounts.
90/100
Financial Efficiency
How efficiently funds reach the cause — program spend and fundraising cost ratios.
0/100
Community Support
Grassroots backing from Charity Commission workforce data — volunteers vs paid staff.
0/100
How much does The Cremation Society of Great Britain raise and spend?
Latest filed year 2025 · Source: Charity Commission filings
| Category | Amount | % of spend |
|---|---|---|
| Total income | £9.5m | — |
| Total expenditure | £8.5m | — |
| Charitable activities | £224k | 3% |
| Fundraising | £7.9m | 93% |
| Governance & admin | £11k | 0% |
Where does the money go?
Latest accounts (2025) · £8.5m spent
- Charitable activities3% · £224k
- Fundraising93% · £7.9m
- Governance0% · £11k
- Other spending5% · £398k
What trust indicators does The Cremation Society of Great Britain have?
Pulled from the Charity Commission register — filing behaviour, board size, and workforce where reported.
-
Accounts filed on time
up to date · last filing
-
Trustee board size (3–12)
9 trustees on the Charity Commission register
Fundraising Regulator
Status not yet checked
Separate from our financial scores — shows whether the charity follows the Code of Fundraising Practice.
Check Fundraising Regulator →Official register
Reg 209978
Full trustee list, accounts, and regulatory history on the Charity Commission.
View on Charity Commission →Trustees & officers
- PROFESSOR HILARY JOYCE VINER OBE Chair · since 2008
- Colin Francis Rickman since 2015
- Professor Heather Ann Conway since 2017
- The LORD Rupert Charles DE MAULEY TD since 2018
- Deborah Ann Kerslake since 2019
- Richard David Clarke since 2021
- Rt Revd Christopher Richard James Foster since 2022
- Ian Michael Rudkin since 2025
- Lucille Joan Furie since 2025
How we score charities +
The Clarity Score is a 100-point rating from UK regulator filings (Charity Commission for England and Wales, OSCR and CCNI). Four pillars — Accountability & Transparency (40), Financial Health (30), Financial Efficiency (20), and Community Support (10) — each scored on a continuous scale, not pass/fail cutoffs. A statutory inquiry sets the score to 0 automatically.
Accountability & Transparency
Scored from filings
40 points — filing history (15), trustee oversight (15, scaling up to a board of three or more), declared policies (10).
Financial Health
Scored from filings
30 points — reserves (15, full marks 3–24 months, tapering on both sides), income stability (10), liabilities to assets (5, scaling down as debt rises).
Financial Efficiency
Scored from filings
20 points — program expense ratio and fundraising cost, each on a graduated scale (not a single cutoff). Kept at 20% of the total: financial-ratio scoring alone is not a reliable effectiveness signal (see "why not just an overhead ratio?" below).
Community Support
Scored from filings
10 points — volunteer-to-staff ratio from Charity Commission workforce data, scaling continuously up to a 2:1 ratio.
Overall score
Sum of all pillar points. Display stars use the same bands as the labels: 90–100 → 5★ Exceptional; 75–89 → 4★ Good; 60–74 → 3★ Needs improvement; 1–59 → 2★ Poor; 0 → not rated.
How have The Cremation Society of Great Britain's finances changed over five years?
- Income
- Spending
- Cause spend
Values in £ thousands · Cause spend plotted only when the filing discloses a split · Source: Charity Commission accounts
What are the key facts about The Cremation Society of Great Britain?
- Overall score
- 60/100 (3★)
- Income
- £9.5m
- Cause spend
- 2% of expenditure
- Reg number
- 209978
- Scope
- UK-wide
- Reserves
- 20 months
- Trustees
- 9
- Accounts year
- 2025
- Filing
- up to date
How does THE CREMATION SOCIETY OF GREAT BRITAIN compare, and where else can you look?
Where THE CREMATION SOCIETY OF GREAT BRITAIN sits
The causes this charity is classified under, and other charities working nearby.
Similar environment charities
Top-rated peers by CharityCompare score
- ESSEX AND SUFFOLK RIVERS TRUST 100/100 · £963k
- GREAT WESTERN SOCIETY LIMITED 99/100 · £3.9m
- THE MID-NORFOLK RAILWAY PRESERVATION TRUST 99/100 · £2.5m
- THE SHARPHAM TRUST 99/100 · £2.2m
How can you share The Cremation Society of Great Britain's rating?
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What red flags does The Cremation Society of Great Britain have?
Frequently asked questions
Common questions about The Cremation Society of Great Britain's rating, finances, and Charity Commission status.
Is The Cremation Society of Great Britain a good charity? +
The Cremation Society of Great Britain scores 60 out of 100 (3 stars — Needs improvement) on CharityCompare's Clarity Score, our independent read of its UK regulator filings. Around 2% of its spending goes to charitable activities and its accounts are up to date. That reflects how transparent and financially healthy it looks on paper — it does not measure the real-world impact of its work, so treat it as one factor alongside the cause you care about. CharityCompare never tells you where to donate.
Is The Cremation Society of Great Britain a legitimate charity? +
Yes — The Cremation Society of Great Britain is a legitimate registered charity (charity number 209978). Verify it on the official register: https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/209978. Registration proves status; Clarity Score then summarises filing transparency on paper, not programme impact.
What is The Cremation Society of Great Britain's charity number? +
The Cremation Society of Great Britain's charity number is 209978. Check that number on the official register (Charity Commission, OSCR or CCNI) or this CharityCompare profile before you donate — scammers sometimes reuse real numbers on fake appeals.
What is The Cremation Society of Great Britain's charity rating? +
The Cremation Society of Great Britain scores 60 out of 100 on CharityCompare (3 stars — Needs improvement). The Clarity Score V1 sums four pillars from UK regulator filings: Accountability & Transparency (40 pts), Financial Health (30), Financial Efficiency (20), and Community Support (10). Stars use the same bands as those labels — 90+ is 5★ Exceptional. It is not an impact ranking.
Does The Cremation Society of Great Britain have reviews and complaints? +
CharityCompare does not host public user reviews for The Cremation Society of Great Britain. Instead you get a filing-based Clarity Score, cause spend, reserves and red flags such as late accounts (1 filing concern(s) noted on this profile). For formal complaints about a charity, contact the Charity Commission, OSCR, CCNI or the Fundraising Regulator as appropriate.
How much of my donation reaches The Cremation Society of Great Britain? +
According to its 2025 regulator filing, 2% of The Cremation Society of Great Britain's total spending went to charitable activities (3-yr avg across disclosed years). That is the closest official figure to "how much of your donation reaches the cause" — it is an average across all spending in the filing, not a pound-by-pound breakdown of an individual gift.
What are The Cremation Society of Great Britain's overheads? +
According to its 2025 regulator filing, fundraising costs were about 93% of total expenditure and combined overheads (fundraising plus governance) were about 93% of total expenditure at The Cremation Society of Great Britain. The filings CharityCompare uses do not publish CEO or senior-staff pay, so we cannot say what The Cremation Society of Great Britain's chief executive is paid — where disclosure rules apply, senior pay appears in the trustees' annual report on the Charity Commission register.
How much income does The Cremation Society of Great Britain receive? +
The Cremation Society of Great Britain reported £9.5m total income in its 2025 accounts, based on UK regulator filings. Five-year trend: stable.
Are The Cremation Society of Great Britain's accounts up to date? +
Filing status: up to date (last filing 2026-06-24). CharityCompare flags late or missing accounts separately from the financial score.
Where is The Cremation Society of Great Britain based? +
The Cremation Society of Great Britain is listed at United Kingdom and operates UK-wide, focused on environment.
How does CharityCompare score The Cremation Society of Great Britain? +
We calculate a Clarity Score of 0–100 from four pillars in The Cremation Society of Great Britain's regulator filings: Accountability & Transparency (40 points — filing history, trustees, policies), Financial Health (30 — reserves, income trend, debt), Financial Efficiency (20 — cause spend and fundraising cost, on a graduated scale) and Community Support (10 — volunteer-to-staff ratio). An open statutory inquiry scores 0. The score measures reporting on paper, not programme impact. CharityCompare is free for donors, takes no commission on donations, and scores cannot be bought.
How often is this page updated? +
This profile was last updated on 17 July 2026 from the latest UK regulator data available to CharityCompare, and The Cremation Society of Great Britain's most recent accounts cover 2025. Scores and figures refresh whenever we re-ingest the register, so the page reflects our latest data pull rather than a one-off review.